“Thank you, Iain.” I kissed him, grateful he had such a generous heart.
I vowed that the next two days, and every single moment I spent with him in his world unto eternity, would be completely his. The great man I loved deserved nothing less.
Day three arrived in a flash. The cherished time Iain and I’d spent together had imprinted onto my soul like a fiery brand. Every precious moment had been filled with love . . . and plenty of lust.
I sat in the great hall, popping a final bite of a warm, cheesy apple tart into my mouth. As Iain bounded down the stairs, I savored the last coffee I would have for a while. My hands trembled as I lowered the mug to the table. I ran dampened palms down my leather-clad thighs, grateful Iain hadn’t burned my Pict clothing, even though he said he’d been seriously tempted.
Iain stalked up from behind and leaned down, kissing my ear. “Ready, lass?”
“No. Yes.” I sighed, standing from the stool and stepping into his solid embrace. “As I’ll ever be, I suppose. At least this time, I know what’s about to happen.”
Iain laughed, “We’ve a plan,” he replied. “It remains to be seen if it actually happens.”
He laced his fingers through mine and led us down the darkened hall toward his study. The room already sparked with energy as if anticipating our arrival. I exhaled a quick breath through puffed cheeks as Iain pulled me forward until we stood in front of the mysterious wall. The pinpoint lights in the stone tapestry vibrated as we hovered near. Iain shot an intense stare at me from those vivid hazel eyes, wordlessly directing me to follow his lead.
He pressed his left hand to the upper corner of the wall on an empty section of solid stone. The sparkling expanse shimmered—solid, and yet in so many ways, not—like heat radiating off one-hundred-twenty-degree pavement. He closed his eyes, drawing his brows in concentration.
The wall made a low crackling noise. Its surface pulsed energy out into the room, throwing it into and through me like the bass vibration at a rock concert. The euphoric sensation bordered on erotic. I stared at Iain in amazement. Focused, Iain seemed oblivious to my reaction. He removed his hand, reducing the charge on a scale of one to ten from a twelve down to about a five.
The blast had permeated me on an atomic level. Residual energy continued to snap through my veins long after he broke contact with an entity that was in no way merely just a wall or a map.
Iain had juiced me up. In preparation for utilizing the wall’s smaller cousin, he’d given me a measured dose of the power it wielded. The heady aftereffect left me reeling . . . and craving more. I’d become the drug user, Iain the pusher.
Funny, when we went over our plan, he left out the details about the whole plug-in power source. He’d only said he thought he had a way to create enough power for me to go back with a one-sided connection. He hadn’t disclosed that he’d planned to make me the transformer.
The hopped-up residuals made me feel slightly aggressive about his secret keeping again. C’mere, little girl. Have a taste of this powerful drug, but I control the supply. However, in no position to complain about Iain’s rightful property, I kept my criticism under wraps.
Iain obviously knew how to use the wall’s power. My ire about all that Iain knew, but leaked in bits and pieces, skipped like a stone across the calm surface of my mental pond before it sank. Unsure about what rights I had to demand explanations, yet simultaneously knowing I’d become entitled to insist upon them, I managed to curtail a lash out, staying focused on the prize.
“We are so going to talk about that wall when I return.” Aaand . . . I failed to harness it all.
He chuckled, kissing my nose and turned me about by my shoulders, nudging me forward. “We shall see, lass. We shall see.”
We entered the outer room in stark silence. Nervousness rose from the pit my stomach, into my chest, and out my trembling fingertips as we stood in the small space with the magick box sitting in faux innocence between us. Flames danced atop the rushlights in their iron frames from an errant gust of air through the wide-open door I’d insisted upon. I wondered whether the box vibrated or if my trembling body had altered my perception. Probably both.
Iain’s expression held distinct pride. He no longer harbored any doubts. The man owned me in every way possible in our scenario, and what he had of me had become enough for him. His brave allowance of my continuing journey bore testament of how far he’d come in such a short period. I loved the courageous man with all my heart.
The time had come to save a man very much in need of it also. Plus, solve the mysteries of time travel, find out why I’d been marked as unique by being chosen, and ensure time itself hadn’t rippled due to my cavorting through it.
Piece. Of. Cake.
First we needed to ascertain if my ego had overstepped the bounds of my abilities, or if I actually possessed the power to jump through time on my command versus some otherworldly alignment of circumstance.
Iain pulled me into his arms, crushing his mouth to my lips in a soul-searing kiss. So intense were the emotions he conveyed, I hesitated momentarily with my resolution.
But Iain had never wavered in anything in his life. Built no other way but to decide and proceed, he boldly carried out his actions free of doubt. We’d both agreed when formulating our plan that we’d live our lives without regret.
He grasped my hands between his and raised them to his mouth, gently kissing my fingertips. “I love you, Isa. I need you to hear the words I feel so strongly. I. Love. You.”
My chest ached as I fell even harder for the invincible, yet very human man. Heartfelt words spilled from my lips before the choke at the base of my throat locked it up. “Iain, I love you. More than words could ever express . . . I. Love. You.”
Iain grinned wide until the corners of his mouth fell the slightest degree. We held eye contact the entire time as we lowered our clasped hands onto the artifact already humming with power.
A charge pulsed into the room, and through me. Iain lifted his hand from mine at the last moment. I gasped, and Iain . . . vanished.
I had only one thought in the split-second shift: see you soon . . .
Silent darkness enveloped me, highlighting the isolated feeling that had grown more and more pronounced during my odd adventure. Iain warned me I might arrive unaided when his hot-wired power boost gave him the confidence that he could send me on a one-way trip without Velloc’s help. Still, alone in a foreign land topped my list of “Things I’d Rather Not.”
The electrical surge from the time jump had gifted me another body-rocking orgasm. I’d decided the unsettling side effect had to be due to sensory overload. At least I’d been prepared for that one. Science fiction had the whole feeling-like-you’re-being-torn-in-two thing all wrong.
My vision adjusted in the inky blackness, and I quieted my mind, opening my senses. The rolling cadence of ocean waves rushed in the background. Awareness came as my surroundings clarified my location. We’d made a teensy miscalculation in the flight plan: I hadn’t landed on the floor of the cave . . . I’d been catapulted into Velloc’s home.
The situation’s good news happened to be very convenient. I didn’t have to travel the vast distance to Velloc’s village on foot by myself. I sprang up off the pallet and pushed open the leather flap, considering the bad news as I looked at the abandoned, dying fires. Velloc gone meant he and his men were away from the village. We hadn’t considered Velloc’s absence in the rules that Iain had set forth, and I’d renegotiated due to practicality.